In recent years there has been renewed interest in the use of plants and flowers for their color and decorative qualities. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,559,738 and 4,698,936 teach planters and means for attaching the planters to the top or sides of wall partitions such as are frequently encountered in open plan offices.
Another excellent location for planters is on the top or sides of various types of railings, both indoors and outdoors. In recent years there has been an increased use of railings, as for example on the balconies of high rise condominiums, on the decks of houses, on the decks of above-ground pools, and so on. To date, however, little has been done to provide simple, safe and secure means for affixing a planter on top of or alongside the top rail of a railing structure.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide planter mounting assemblies enabling the location of a planter on top of or alongside the top rail of a railing, whether the railing be made of wood, metal or the like. The mounting assemblies of the present invention are extremely simple, easy and inexpensive to manufacture and quite easy to install. Once installed, the planter is firmly and safely mounted in association with the railing and cannot be inadvertently dislodged therefrom. On the other hand, the mounting assemblies are such that the planters can be easily removed from the railings for purposes of railing maintenance such as repair or painting. In some instances, the same mounting assembly may be used to mount a planter on various types and sizes of top rail.